Insider Media Limited

The chief executive of Leicestershire Chamber of Commerce has told Insider that the region is working through “a small business economy”. Martin Traynor said that small and medium-sized businesses were “making the difference” to Leicestershire and Rutland’s economic success. His comments came as research by Nottingham-based information company Experian rated Rutland ‘high’ in terms of business resilience.

Traynor said: “Many of the region’s smaller and family-run businesses have been run very well while the economy has been struggling. These smaller companies really are making the difference to our region, and have managed to ride out the recession.”

Rutland’s high rating was due in part to a well-educated population and high levels of self-employment.

Traynor said that the region had managed to recover from the economic uncertainty well because of the “diverse” trades that are present in the area, and the fact that it had not been “caught up in the motor manufacturing sector”, which, said Traynor, had been hit particularly hard.

The chief executive was confident about the region’s success in the future and said there was “no question” that it will continue to improve.

“We are halfway through our third-quarterly economic survey, and that’s looking very positive”, he said.

However, the other side of the East Midlands did not fare as well in the Business Resiliance report. Derby was rated with a ‘low’ self-employment rate, and Nottingham was said to be “prone to economic shocks”.

George Cowcher, chief executive of the Derbyshire and Nottinghamshire Chamber of Commerce, said: “There’s no doubt that the trading environment has been extremely touch for business over the last few years, but all the signs are starting to show that despite the economy still being fragile, things are starting to improve.

“In order to secure and sustain the recovery, the economy needs to move away from over-consumption and an over-reliance on financial services and the public sector and rebalance itself more towards exports, manufacturing, enterprise and innovation.

“As such it’s crucial that the mechanisms are in place to support new business start-ups to help them grow and create the jobs and wealth needed to drive the economy forward.”